Page 111 of The Plus One Professional

On the wayto Bailey’s apartment, we talked a little bit about the tests that my sister had gotten done and her conditions. I explained how she lost her husband when she was pregnant with the twins. Bailey reacted the way I’d expected her to. She felt horrible that we’d all been through all that we had. And she thought Sara was incredibly brave and resilient, and the kids were lucky to have us both.

I felt ridiculous for not opening up to her sooner. I’d been so worried about letting her into my life, so scared that it would ruin things when I should have known better. Bailey was the most empathetic, nurturing person I’d ever met.

When we turned onto her street, I felt the time I had with her slipping away, and I asked, “What about you? How have you been?”

“Do you want to come up?” she spoke at the same time I did.

Inside, I was doing an endzone victory dance, but I tried not to show my touchdown-level enthusiasm as I pulled into a parking space. “Yes. I do.”

We were silent as we entered her building and walked inside the lobby. The air crackled around us as the elevator doors closed. I turned to speak to her, but they opened again, and a woman walked in with a dalmatian and a bright pink leash and collar.

It was the same woman who had let me in when I came to see Bailey a week and a half ago. Her eyes lit up when she saw that I was with Bailey, whom she’d known I was going to visit when I asked to be let in the building.

“Hello again.”

“Hi, Mrs. Johnson.” Bailey smiled, thinking Mrs. Johnson was speaking to her.

“Hi.” I grinned as her dog came up and stuck her head into my hand. I scratched her behind her ears and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Cruella,” Mrs. Johnson informed me.

“Cruella.” I smiled as I bent down to really give her some good scratches. “I love that. Hello, Cruella.”

Cruella’s tail wagged as she licked my face.

“Sorry,” Mrs. Johnson apologized as she pulled her back.

“No worries. I love kisses.” I glanced up at Bailey and saw her lips curl in a grin.

The doors opened, and I straightened as we said goodbye to Mrs. Johnson and Cruella. Just like it had on the first floor, as soon as the doors shut, the air between us thickened, and there was literally an atmospheric shift as we rode up to the eighth floor.

Being this close to Bailey in a confined space was wreaking havoc on me. I put my hands in my pockets because I didn’t trust myself not to reach out and brush away the strands of hair that had fallen over her forehead. If I did that, I wouldn’t trust myself not to kiss her. If I did that, I wouldn’t trust myself not to pull the emergency exit and take her up against the wall.

Since I doubted the rest of the people in the building would appreciate that, I played it safe and kept my hands in my pockets.

When we got off the elevator, she stopped and turned halfway down her hall. For a split second, I thought she’d changed her mind. I was kicking myself for not kissing her when I had the chance, but then she placed her hand on my chest and smiled.

“I should warn you, there’s someone in there that hasreallymissed you.”

I stared down at her, confused if she was talking about herself or not. If she was, it was a strange way to tell me.

“Whiskey found the sock you left, and she won’t let it out of her sight. It’s her favorite thing. She sleeps with it, cleans it, and rubs her head into it as she purrs. She has given up her normal napping spots and has only slept on the pillow you used and in the corner of the couch you sat on. And she’s been very vocal about letting me know how much she misses you.”

“Vocal? I thought Duke was the talker.” The night I’d spent there, Duke had a lot to say, but Whiskey had been quiet.

“I guess this is the first reason she’s had to speak.” She smiled and turned back, continuing on to her apartment.

Before the door was even open, I could hear Whiskey’s protest. She was meowing loudly as I walked in and saw her curled up in the corner of the couch with my sock. When she saw me, she stood and her back arched up, then she began kneading the sock and purring.

“See, I told you.” Bailey motioned to the cat and my sock, that had seen better days.

I walked over and scratched her behind her ear. She nuzzled her face into my palm and purred loudly.

“She missed you,” Bailey said.

I turned toward Bailey. “I missedyou.”

“I still can’t believe Carly is—” Bailey spoke over me, but her words trailed off when she registered what I’d said.

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